xii, 191 pages ; 24 cm

Moving from the adoption of the "post-Stalin" Constitution of 1977 through its subsequent implementation under Brezhnev, Andropov, and Chernenko to the radical legal "restructuring" of the Gorbachev era, the author traces the gradual evolution of a nascent constitutionalism in the former USSR

Includes bibliographical references (pages 151-171) and indexes

Introduction: Crisis and constitutional reform in Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union: Understanding constitutionalism -- The quest for a constitution in the Russian and Soviet past -- The USSR in crisis: from constitutional reform to political decline

pt. 1. Brezhnev and the Soviet constitution of 1977: Codifying de-Stalinization: The path of constitutional reform -- Continuity and change -- A Soviet "Systems" approach -- The citizen and the state -- Participation and public discussion -- Constitutional revision and ratification -- The constitution as "Magic Wall" -- Epilogue

pt. 2. The Andropov-Chernenko interregnum: Juridicizing the system: The USSR at the end of the Brezhnev era: diagnosing the problems -- Interim remedies, 1980-82 -- Andropov takes charge: campaigning for discipline -- Legislating for discipline: the Andropov record -- Andropov's legacy -- The Chernenko record -- Demise of a campaign: from "Discipline" to "Upbringing" -- Epilogue

pt. 3. Gorbachev and the Soviet constitutional crisis: from de-Stalinization to disintegration: The transition to constitutionalism -- The dimensions of constitutional reform -- Constitutional traditionalism -- The politics of constitutionalism -- The limits of constitutionalism in the USSR -- A "Constitutional" coup -- Epilogue: constitutional futures

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